Forest Myth- conceptions?

PLANTATIONS

• Plantations are forests?
• Tree plantations exhaust the soil
• Eucalypts poison the soil?
• Exotic trees are villains?
• Plantations help conserve natural forests?
• Plantations help rehabilitate degraded land?

Plantations are forests?

The term forest is used for any vegetation cover
are the majority of plants are woody,
and their canopies cover more that 40% (?) of the ground.
It is immaterial whether the vegetation is natural or planted.
In the UK, most of the "Forestry Commission” is concerned with plantations.

Tree plantations exhaust the soil

This depends where the plantation is established.
If  it is grown and harvested on soils that are relatively fertile,
and care is taken to remove only the tree trunks,
leaving the crown and roots behind,
then the evidence is that
successive harvesting and planting cycles (rotations) can be sustainable,
without input of fertiliser.
However,
plantations grown on many rainforest soils may not be sustainable,
since the fertility of these ecosystems
lies in the vegetation and not in the soil.

Eucalypts poison the soil?

Not true – the reason why
little vegetation may be found around eucalyptus trees
is usually because they have been planted close together,
and compete for moisture, light and nutrients.
All other things being equal,
if eucalypts and agricultural crops are given adequate spacing,
they can grow happily together.
Neither the leaves nor the roots “poison” the soil.

Exotic trees are villains?

This is an unfortunate case of anthropomorphizing – casting trees as people!
There are thousands of plants
that have been introduced from other regions
and which are beneficial to people.  
Exotic trees are no exception, and often play a vital role
in beginning the process of rehabilitating degraded sites,
which cannot be done by local (indigenous) species.
However, like any plant used in the wrong situation,
they can compete with and dominate more important crops.
Unfortunately, attempts at casting trees as villains
are often an excuse to put the blame for bad forestry
on what some people may perceive as neo-colonialists.

Plantations help conserve natural forests?

To be written

Plantations help rehabilitate degraded land?

To be written